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miércoles, 27 de marzo de 2013

How the Sukhoi Superjets Are Being Built: These Superjets are the first passenger jet planes that are built after the formation of new Russia and also that is the first passenger plane of SU company which previously built only well known SU military jets. The 33rd airplane … Read more...

Whether you call it a quadcopter, quadrocopter, quadrotor, UAV or (gasp) a drone, DJI’s new GPS-equipped Phantom is certainly a nifty little radio-controlled aircraft. We first heard about the Phantom when it was officially launched this January and since then I've had a chance to try the, uh – let’s call it a quadcopter – out for myself. Here’s a quick look at my experiences with it, and I'll say this right now: the thing was more fun than a barrel full of flying monkeys...
Continue Reading Review: DJI Phantom quadcopter

The U.S. Army is funding Lockheed Martin to develop hardware and software for the Extended Area Protection and Survivability (EAPS) program. Under this program, Lockheed Martin has conducted the first guided test flight of the Miniature Hit-to-Kill (MHTK) interceptor rocket. The MHTK is designed to defeat incoming rocket, artillery, and mortar fire out to ranges of 3 - 4 km (1.9 - 2.5 miles).
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Continue Reading Miniature hit-to-kill rocket interceptor completes flight test

Losing extended operations, or ETOPS, would deal a blow to Boeing and its airline customers by limiting use of the fuel-saving jet, designed to lower costs on long-distance routes that don't require the capacity of the larger Boeing 777. Such a loss could even lead to cancellation of some routes.

"If the FAA approves (only) over-land operations it would be a very damaging blow to the 787 program," said Scott Hamilton, an aviation analyst with Leeham Co in Seattle.

Airbus has installed on the first flight-test A350 XWB (MSN001) its two flight-ready Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines and is also installing the new Honeywell HGT1700 auxiliary power unit (APU) at Airbus' production facilities in Toulouse (France).

The new Trent engines were both received from UTC Aerospace Systems (formerly Goodrich) which had recently prepared the fully integrated powerplants prior to their installation on the aircraft's pylons. Last month the Trent XWB received Engine Type Certification from EASA, confirming that the engine had fulfilled EASA's airworthiness requirements for flight. The Trent XWB has already powered a series of test flights on Airbus' A380 Flying Test Bed (FTB) aircraft since February 2012, demonstrating a high level of maturity.

In parallel to the mounting of the two Trent XWB engines in Toulouse, the A350 XWB is also this week being fitted with its new specially developed APU – the Honeywell HGT1700 which has greater power density and higher efficiency than the previous generation APUs.

With the installation of its engines and also the APU, the A350 XWB MSN001 becomes essentially a 'completed' aircraft. Following the ongoing ground tests, other preparations and also painting in the coming weeks, MSN001 will then be handed over to the Airbus Flight Test team to commence preparations for ground runs and maiden flight in the summer.

Assembling of cockpit, wings and vertical tail unit with the fuselage completed

The Eurofighter IPA 8 (Instrumented Production Aircraft 8) test aircraft has achieved an important production milestone at Cassidian in Manching: with the mounting of the right wing, the connection between the cockpit, vertical tail unit and wings with the fuselage has been completed. "IPA 8 is based on the latest Eurofighter Tranche 3 construction standard and is furthermore equipped with state-of-the-art flight test instrumentation. That makes the aircraft the most advanced Eurofighter in the world," said Berndt Wuensche, Eurofighter Programme Manager at Cassidian.

"IPA 8 can make essential contributions to further developing Eurofighter capabilities in the coming decades – for example, electronic beam scanning for radar, enhanced weapon integration and improvements to mission equipment," he continued.

After assembling the individual major structural components, the aircraft was transferred to the next production station on the final assembly line in Manching, where the test aircraft's hydraulic, defensive aids and electrical systems and its complex special cabling are being installed. The specialists at Cassidian have equipped the modern Eurofighter with more than 110 km of cable in the past few months and additionally installed pressure, flow and electrical data sensors and the test flight instrumentation and computer into the aircraft. Equipped in that way, all the relevant aircraft parameters can be communicated in real time from the air to the flight test engineers on the ground.

All four of the Eurofighter programme's partner nations have test aircraft available, which they are using to test new capabilities on the basis of their development focuses. Cassidian is responsible primarily for the Eurofighter's flight control system, its flight behaviour, radar and fire control systems and infrared sensor.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is the latest and most capable multi-role combat aircraft presently available on the global market. Currently, seven nations (Austria, Germany, Italy, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the UK) have procured the Eurofighter. To date, the Eurofighter fleet has completed more than 170,000 flight hours world-wide, thus making the aircraft the safest and one of the most reliable combat aircraft in operation. With 719 aircraft under contract, 571 orders and over 355 deliveries, the Eurofighter is currently the largest military procurement programme in Europe and, thanks to its advanced technology, strengthens the European aviation industry's position in international competition. The programme also safeguards more than 100,000 jobs at 400 companies and is managed by Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH on behalf of the Eurofighter partner companies Alenia Aermacchi/Finmeccanica, BAE Systems and Cassidian in Germany and Spain.
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